


Charmer Maxson

by Leighabel



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Arranged Marriage, F/M, Fluff, Hate to Love, innocent sole, protective deacon, smol sole
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-04-18 12:09:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14212836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leighabel/pseuds/Leighabel
Summary: The Railroad is crumbling. The Brotherhood is closing in, not to mention the institute. Charmer has to do something. These people saved her life, helped her find her brother, and became her new family in the process.Arthur needs to get married. The Citadel is bearing down and threatening to bring him back to the Capital Wasteland. It's at this time that fate intervenes and reports reach Arthur's desk of a vault dweller frozen in time before the war who happens to be a member of the Railroad. A solution to both of their problems has come, though this solution may cause problems on its own.





	1. A Letter from the Enemy

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to another one of my writing that I do instead of paying attention in class. Will I finish this one? Stay tuned to find out! All jokes aside I hope you enjoy!
> 
> (I'm editing old chapters, no major plot changes just rewording and some minor changes to physical descriptions.)

Bang bang bang, comes from the shooting range as Deacon walks in. He looks over to Desdemona, who’s bent over the table in the middle of HQ, gripping the table hard. Everyone was on edge. He’s glad Glory was out, or else she’d probably be shooting with Charmer, however, she was shooting little Deliverer and Glory would be shooting her minigun. Deacon walks farther in and Drummer boy runs up to meets him.

“Hi…” the kid bites his lip, “so things aren’t great…”

Decan nods. “I can see… What happened?”

“Fucking Brotherhood of Dicks blew up another safe house!” Glory comes in from behind him and punches the wall.

Charmer winces, pausing to reload her gun. She looks over to Deacon and he smiles. Poor kid, she was barely 18 and had gone through so much. She’d stumbled out of the Vault, having watched her parents die and her baby brother taken, into a new and dangerous world. He’d felt so bad he’d taken her in, trained her to shoot and had been helping her search. They’d found her brother, in charge of The Institute, an old man now who treated her like a baby. Then again everyone treated her like a kid, he understood why. She was only 5’2” and didn’t have the curviest body. Even with the makeup she wore, black eyeliner, mascara, and nude matte lipstick she didn’t look her age. Still, since she was so sweet looking she was perfect for getting information, her name was perfect for her. Charmer.

She turns back and starts shooting again. Charmer’s deadly accurate, which was a shame since she hated hurting people, wanting to use words instead of bullets.

He walks over to Des and looks down at the paper in front of her. “What’s that?”

“A letter,” Des says, her voice as stressed filled as the rest of her body.

“It’s a fucking joke is what it is!” Glory yells, pacing back and forth, arms crossed.

“From the Brotherhood?” He looks down and takes it, Des’s eyes don’t move from the spot where the letter was, her body doesn’t change other than a nod of her head.

The note was written on nice paper in neat handwriting, no blood or scorch marks. It was clear that it was handled in care, important.

 

_ To the Leader of the Railroad, _

_ My name is Arthur Maxson. Over the last few months, we have been at each other's throats. Our drastically differing beliefs on the Synths causing us to fight time and time again. As of today, we have destroyed four ‘Safe Houses’ of yours. Others have been destroyed by the Institute. And while I have no idea how many you still have, I know if four of my bases were destroyed it would take a toll. Now I do not write this to gloat. I write this because while we have the numbers to destroy you, the Brotherhood did not wish to fight a war on two sides. The Railroad and Brotherhood may have its disagreements but we can agree on one thing, the Institute needs to be stopped. I write to offer a solution, the Brotherhood offers peace in return for two things you have that we desperately want. Our sources indicate that you have both inside information on the Institute and that you have recruited a vault dweller into your ranks that has been frozen before the war. In return for our peace, we ask from you to share the information you have and an agreement of marriage from your vault dweller to me, Arthur Maxson, Elder of the Brotherhood of Steel. I hope to hear from you soon. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Elder Arthur Maxson _

__

This has to be a joke right. They want to… marry Charmer? He looks over to her, studying her. She’s so small… She’d become like a little sister to them all. They’re all so protective of her. He understands why Glory’s so mad.

“So… Why isn’t this burning in a fire yet?” He asks, putting it down.

“That's what I said!” Glory yells.

Des stands straight. “Because it is somethi-”

“Because I’m going to do it,” Charmer says calmly. She puts her gun’s safety on and puts it in the holster on her hip. She wears her cute rose pink shirt with a bomber jacket over it and some light blue jeans. Her belt and holster were a light brown leather with matching brown combat boots that came up to about mid cafe. The outfight was kevlar but Decon still got upset she wouldn’t wear more armor. Looking at her she looks so pre-war it hurt. Her golden blonde curls in a ponytail held by a white bow. A small golden heart-shaped locket glinted in the light of the lanterns, on the chain with them was her parents' wedding rings. She keeps them close to her heart.

He shakes his head, snapping out of his thoughts and back to reality. “No, you are not!”

Her dark brown eyes meet his, they were so dark they almost looked black at times. They looked like that now, black and filled with determination. “Yes, I am.” She says, sternly. “If I don’t we all die… Brotherhood wins, all synths die. I’m not a good fighter, I’m not the best at getting info. I’m not great at anything really… but this I can do.” She says the last part softly.

“No!” Glory says, uncrossing her arms and balling her hands into fists “No fucking way!”

Des looks down and Deacon looks between her and Charmer. “No Des you can’t let her.”

“Des knows it’s the only option,” Charmer says softly. She looked determined, not scared.

Deacon shakes his head. “No, it is not!”

“Really Deacon?” She looks up at him. “Look at that board.” She points to the chalkboard. “We have one safehouse left! We have a handful of Synths and even fewer agents! How can we do anything with numbers like this? If the Institute or Brotherhood finds our last safe house, we will be over.” He opens his mouth to say something but she can read his mind. “You really think we can rebuild and recruit faster than the Brotherhood can destroy and kill?” He closes his mouth. “That’s what I thought.” She sighs. “So, send a letter Des. Get this killing to stop.” She says softly. With that Charmer turns and out and into the church.

“You can’t let her do this!” Glory looks at Des.

“Why not?” Des looks up. “She’s not wrong… If we turn them down we are done. I’ve talked to P.A.M. Without this we will be destroyed in about two months at the latest.” Des paces. “I don’t want to do this. I wouldn’t force her to do this… But what can I do? She’s an adult. She can make her own decisions.”

“She’s barely an adult.” Deacon says sternly. “We can’t just marry her off to save our asses! He’s an ass, he could abuse her, rape her!” He balls his fists. “No this isn’t happening.” He turns and leaves.

The church is quiet and cold. Then, click click click. The clicking of a typewriter starts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Slightly Edited)


	2. An Agreement

Thud thud thud, the sound of heavy footsteps gets louder. Most power-armor creaks and squeaks, but not Danse’s; he always took amazing care of his armor. It’s this knowledge that lets Arthur know it’s Danse behind him on the command deck before even turning around.

“Elder Maxson, we are a letter from the Railroad,” Danse says. Arthur turns and looks up at him. Danse was tall in his own right, with power-armor he was huge. Yet somehow the man never seemed to try and use this height to overpower Arthur. Danse knew his place. Even as Arthur’s friend, Danse never used to try and gain power over him.

“Thank you, Paladin.” Arthur takes the letter. It was on old paper, written on a typewriter. No name was signed either, anonymous.

 

_ Elder Maxson, _

_ We find ourselves for once agreeing with you. We want no needless slaughter. We have a bigger enemy. Of course, there will be much to discuss, how we will handle our differences when it comes to dealing with this enemy. But we will leave that to our vault dweller, who has agreed to this marriage. She will be at the settlement of Sanctuary in a day, she will have the information we have agreed to share. We hope you will treat her well. We will be watching. _

_ THE RAILROAD _

 

Arthur lets his shoulders relax and folds the letter. Danse looks down at him, trying to see any emotion in his features. He got nothing however, Arthur had learned to keep his face clear of emotions since he was a child. “They have agreed. We will have the information on the Institute.”

Danse doesn’t look impressed. “And the vault dweller?”

“Yes. They have agreed to that as well…” Arthur moves past him. “I should bring this to Quinlan and speak to Cade.”

Danse turns to follow Arthur with his eyes. “Are you sure about this? Buying a bride with people’s lives?” His voice is quiet, not trying to question Elder Maxson but his friend Arthur.

Arthur looks up at him. “It's not like I have much choice Danse…” He says softly, turning away and heads out.

Arthur makes his way over to Quinland, giving him the letter for the archives and then heads to Cade. Cade smiles, looking up from his desk. Cade was a sweet man, kind and gentle. He was one of the few doctors that prescribe to the pre-war motto of ‘do no harm’.

“Elder, have you heard back from the Railroad?” Cade stands and salutes as he’s supposed.

“Yes, tomorrow you will head with Paladin Danse and a few Knights to the settlement of Sanctuary. I want you to give her a full examination, make sure everything is in order. Once that is done if all is well you will return, Danse will stay there until things are ready.” Arthur paces, biting the inside of his cheek as he did when he was nervous. Not that he was nervous, why would he be? Just about to marry a woman he’d never met. “I also want a report on her mental state and personality. I trust you to know whether she will fit the Maxson name.”

Cade stands and closes the door, motioning for Arthur to sit across from him. He does so, reluctantly. “Why do you not go?” Cade looks him over. “Meet her before the papers are signed.”

“Because it doesn’t matter… Clearly, my wants are not a factor in this Cade.” He sighs. “I shouldn’t even be asking to know her personality. The Citadel wants more Maxson’s. And we need to ally ourselves with the Railroad. No matter how much I hate it we need them.” He stands and goes to the door. “Thank you, Cade.” He left and walked to his room.

~~~

Swish swish swish, the sound of a vertibird landing outside comes through the window. Charmer looks up from her tea to see power-armor clad soldiers coming out of it. Her instincts say run, sound alarms, hide. But she couldn’t this time, she had to sit, stay, play nice. She could do that, it wasn’t hard, she’d been the kid of a high-status military family, she knew how to act. So she sits, sips her tea and doesn’t look up at the loud knock at the door. Codsworth answered the door. The friendly greeting comes and footsteps come and stand in front of her. She looks up at the two figures. One, a large man in power-armor, she knows as Paladin Danse. She’d never seen him this close but Deacon and she had watched them at the police station, he was much larger this close up. The other was a man she didn’t know, he was tall, muscular, but not dressed as a soldier.

“Hello, ma’am.” The paladin bows his head. “My name is Paladin Danse and this is Knight-Captain Cade. He is our doctor.”

The doctor holds out his hand to her and she takes his, shaking it. He smiles kindly at him. “Yes, I am. I am here to do a medical assessment of you if you agree to it.”

She knew that last part was for show, she had to let him poke and prod her and make sure she could have kids or whatever. She nods and stands. “Of course Knight-Captain.” She bows her head. “Let us head back to my room unless the Paladin is required to be there?” She looks up at Danse.

Cade shakes his head and follows her back to her room. It wasn’t big, she hadn’t taken her parents room when she had fixed up their house. The room was very pink and white. She blushes about how young it must look but was what she liked. She liked the light pinks and yellows. It gave her an escape. She sits on her bed, motioning to a chair for him to sit in.

The exam took about an hour, it was uncomfortable and painful but Cade was kind and tried to be as gentle as he could. She hoped there were more people in the Brotherhood like him. She hoped the Elder was like him. She doesn’t complain, she was the perfect little lady she was trained to be. The only thing she does not give him is her name. That she had always kept for herself. Once it was over they returned to the living room.

“I hope all went well.” The paladin says, smiling.

“Of course.” Charmer bows her head.

“Alright. Well ma’am now the Doctor will return to the Pridwin and tomorrow if all is well someone will return with the paperwork, you will sign and then I will return with you.” Danse explains and Charmer just nods.

“We will find a place for you to sleep then Paladin Danse.” Charmer motions to Codsworth and he hovers out the door to find a place for him to stay. “Now if you do not mind I will be retiring for the night.” The Paladin nods and she heads back to her room, curling into a ball and gripping her locket, and parents’ rings. “Tell me I’m doing the right thing…” She prays softly and falls asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Slightly Edited)


	3. A Nervous Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thanks to all of you who have waited for this! I edited the past two chapters a little, no major changes just wording and the minor physical changes to our little Charmer. Anyway, this chapter is a little shorter than the others since I'm getting used to writing again, but I'm working on making the next one a little longer. So, let's get to this, shall we?

Tap Tap Tap, Arthur paces outside Cade’s office. It’d grown late and he should be in bed but he couldn’t sleep, he needed to know. Finally after what felt like hours of pacing Cade opened the door and motions for Arthur to come in. The Knight Captain had refused to tell him anything until everything had been analyzed. Thus, Arthur had paces.

“So?” Arthur looks at Cade, arms crossed.

The doctor motions to the chair and Arthur reluctantly sits. “Calm yourself Arthur, deep breath.” Arthur rolls his eyes but does as told, relaxing. Cade smiles and nods, looking down at the sheet. “She is extremely fertile, healthy, she has no permanent radiation damage. However, due to this she has no resistance to it and tends to suffer more frequently and with more severe effects from radiation poisoning. So you will have to be mindful of that during radstorms.”

“Alright, and?” Arthur was sitting on the edge of his seat, he didn’t care about any of this medical stuff. Well, he did, just not at this moment. He was tired and stressed and needed to know something about this woman, his thought had been clouded with worse case scenarios all day.

“And… She’s lovely, young but very kind and ladylike. The Citadel will be pleased with her, she shall be the perfect Maxson wife.” Cade smiles. “She never complained once during the examination, even asked if Danse had to join.”

A breath that had been held since the letter of agreement had arrived was let out. He didn’t know if they would get along or if that was what she was truly like, but at least she knew how to act. He had learned to act as well. “Thank you, Cade.” He stood and went to the door.

“Arthur,” Cade stands and looks at him as he turns around. “You need to be careful with her… She’s bearly an adult… She’s going to be scared, make sure she feels safe or this is not going to work.”

Arthur nods, “Of course, thank you.” With that, he opens the door and leaves. He knew how scary this place could be, he’d been a child when he was made Elder. However, at this moment he needed rest… Tomorrow he’d be married.

 

~~~

 

Knock knock knock comes from the door to Charmer’s room. Sun shines lightly through the gap in her curtains. She remembered when Sturges had helped her hang them, it’d been hard to fix up the house. She’d felt bad, but Sturges never complained. They had worked hard, she’d wanted to have the place looking nice when they brought home Shaun. Shaun… he’d been such a sweet baby, one that wasn’t planned. Her parents had her shortly after they were married and then had decided to wait for a while before they had another, sadly in that time of waiting her dad was hurt in battle. A bomb had gone off under a car he’d been in and he lost a leg. She remembered sitting in the waiting room and overhearing the doctor tell her parents they would probably never be able to have another child. Then, a decade later there was Shaun. They called him their miracle baby, Mom said she was too old and with Dad’s medical issues it should have been impossible.

Knock knock knock comes again, bringing her back to reality. Charmer stands and pulls on her robe and slippers, walking over and opening the door. “Good Morning.” She says softly, looking up at the impossibly tall Paladin.

“Good Morning to you ma’am. The results from your tests are in and everything seems to be in order. So, if you could get dressed and packed, I will get the paperwork set on the table and then we can head to the Prydwen.” He seemed nice enough in the way he said it. Though he didn’t seem to understand how daunting that idea seemed, she couldn’t show fear. So, she smiled and nodded.

“Of course Paladin Danse, I will be only a few moments most of my things are already packed and ready.” She says softly, bowing her head and heading back into her room. She looks around her room, it’s mostly packed in two large suitcases. She opens the one with her clothes in it and packs her slippers and robe, then turns to her closet and looks at the white dress hanging there. Made of white lacy, fitted to her body, going down to her knee, with a sweetheart neckline, and off the shoulder straps, the dress itself was perfect and lovely. It wasn’t her mother’s wedding dress as she’d wanted to wear on her wedding day, but with it, she wore her mother's pearl earring. This wasn’t what she’d imagined her wedding day to be like, but it would do in this messed up word. So she put on her dress and did her hair and makeup. She looked in her mirror and smiled, touching the locket around her neck. “I can do this.” She smiles and walks into the other room.


	4. An Unconventional Wedding Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the positivity guys, I'm having so much fun writing this. Enjoy!

Creek click click, the door opens and the sound of heels against the floor causes Danse’s head to turn. He blinks and tries to hide his look of shock. The girl looks, amazing, soft golden curls falling gently down her shoulders, a white lace dress hugs her slight curves. When they first met she looked like a little girl, far too young for any of this, but at this moment she actually looked like a woman. Her cheeks blush as she feels his eyes on her and he quickly looks away, back to the stack of papers in front of him. “You look lovely my lady. Now I shall send knights to gather your things. The papers are here for you to read and sign.”

“Thank you, Paladin.” She turns to the stack of papers and Danse takes a moment to look her over once more. He felt bad for her, but he knew Arthur, he’d treat her well… and if not Danse knew he could protect her.

 

~~~

 

The papers in front of her were daunting, she sat at the counter and Codsworth brought her a cup of tea. She smiles at him and sips it as she starts to read. Halfway through the dullest thing she’s ever read and she feels a hand on her back, she looks up to see Hancock smiling down at her. “Hi, sunshine.” His voice raspy but kind.

“Hancock!” She smiles and jumps up, hugging him. He smells like Jet and Mentats, something she’d hated at first but had grown to love. “No one told me you were coming here!” She looks up at him, he’d been her best friend in this crazy new world, the only one who didn’t care about her age because he acted like a child himself.

“And miss seeing you on your wedding day? Never kid.” He smiles down at her and then takes a step back, looking her over. “Oh don’t you look all ladylike and prewar.” He smirked and poked her nose. “Cute kid, just wish it wasn’t for marrying that ass.”

“I know… Speaking of is it safe for you to be here? The Paladin is outside and knights should be coming in to get my bags.” She looks around worriedly.

“Already came and went while you were reading, they are all waiting outside. Plus I’m the only one who could be here from the gang so…” With that, he shrugs. She knew he was right, wouldn’t be safe for other agents to come and say goodbye but Hancock wasn’t technically in the Railroad so this was safe... She hoped. Still, she wished they could have been there, she wished she could hug everyone one last time, have Deacon make a joke, Glory ruffle her hair... “Oh come on sunshine, stop worrying about me.” He kisses the top of her head. When they first met he’d been afraid to touch her, worried he would scare her. She’d gotten him out of that feeling, telling him that his ruined skin was a comfort to her. It didn’t trick her into thinking it was before the war like normal people did. “So you done with this?” He looks over at the papers.

“Might as well be… no real reason to read it, not like I can say no now.” She says half-heartedly.

“No… I guess not.” He hugs her. “But don’t worry kid, you won’t be alone up there. You can do this…” He touched the rings around her neck and smiles. “Just in case things do go bad though…” He looks around before reaching under her dress and fastening a leg-sheath to her thigh. “There.” He winks and hugs her. “I should go, be safe sunshine.” With that, he slipped out the back window.

Charmer smiles and relaxes as she feels the knife against her skin, reminding her she wasn’t helpless. She reaches for the pen and pauses, she knew Charmer wouldn’t work this time. It would be the first time since waking up that she would write or speak her name. She lets out a shaky breath and signs the paper.

 

_ X  _ _ Eloise Monroe _

 

~~~~

 

With a sigh, she touches her necklace with one hand and takes the papers in the other. She heads to the door and looks back at Codsworth with a smile. “I’ll see you soon Codsworth…” She blinks and sniffles to hold back tears as her eyes well up.

“Be safe young miss,” Codsworth says, robotic voice laced with sadness and waves to her.

Charmer nods and heads to the door, opening it and walking out. Sturges and Preston stand outside with the others from the settlement. They give her halfhearted smiles as she heads to Paladin Danse. “Here you are, Paladin.” She hands him the papers and he looks them over, nodding as he sees her signature.

“The Knights have gathered your things ma’am, are you ready to head out?” He places the papers in a pack, looks at her, waiting.

“Lead the way, Paladin.” She replies, not really answering his question. Paladin simply nods and turns, leading the way over to the vertibird. The two make there way over and the Paladin holds out a hand to her, to help her up. She takes it and steps up, taking the seat presented to her. The ‘bird takes off and Charmer looks down at her home as it fades away, smiling faces and waving hands fading along with it. Her heart sank as her home fades out of sight, though as she closes her eyes she feels the knife against her thigh and the rings around her neck. She knew she wasn’t alone, she was doing this to keep her new family safe and in that she felt them with her, giving her their strength. Many minutes later, a heavy hand rested on her shoulder and she opens her eyes and looks up at Paladin Danse. “We are here.” He says and takes her hand and she stands up, looking out the side she sees the monster that had haunted her nightmares. “Welcome to the Prydwen,” He paused and smiled at her, his eyes look kind, though his words make her heart sink. “Welcome home Mrs. Maxson.”


	5. A Sweet Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone for all the excitement and positivity! This one is a bit longer, hope you continue to enjoy!

Tick tock tick tock

_ She’ll be here soon. _

Tick

_ The papers will be signed. _

Tock

_ They are probably already signed. _

Tick

_ He was probably already married. _

Tock

_ 22, Elder, married _

Tick

_ 22 and married… _

Tock

_ Married to a woman he’d never met. _

 

Arthur’s hands grip tightly onto the railing of the control room, his watch the only sound that filled the metal walls. He was forcing himself not to pace around, closing his eyes, the time was passing so slowly. All his meeting had been canceled for his “wedding day” which only made time pass slower and his heart beat louder,  _ louder _ ,  _ LOUDER _ . “Sir the virtibird is in view.” A muffled voice comes out through a helmet. For a moment everything was still, it’s as if time had stopped, it was silent no watch or heart. Arthur takes a deep breath and turns to the voice.

“Thank you, Knight.” He stands up straight, brushed off his coat and places his hands behind his back as he walks out.

 

Thud

_ Though the door. _

Thud

_ Onto the deck. _

Thud

_ There’s the ‘bird. _

Thud

_ There is Danse. _

Thud

_ There she is. _

_ Damn, she is beautiful. _

 

His heart skips a beat. She’s holding Danse’s hand, golden curls blowing around in the wind. His eyes look down her, she was so small in comparison to Danse. He felt under-dressed looking at her beautiful white dress. She looks perfect.

Arthur had never claimed to have fallen in love. He’d been with his share of women, but never for longer than a night or two, he’d never had time for more. He hadn’t expected to fall in love with this vault-dweller, she was simply a solution to a problem. He didn’t believe in “love at first sight”, but looking at her at that moment he couldn’t deny the butterflies in his stomach, a feeling he had never had before.

The ‘bird lands and he walks down the deck to meet them. Danse gets off first and then holds out a hand to the girl, his wife. She steps out, small heels clicking lightly against the metal. She looks at him, pale freckled cheeks blush pink as their eyes meet. Danse speaks first, taking out the paperwork and holding it out to him. He looks up and takes them, flipping through and seeing her name signed. “Thank you Danse, please take this to Quinlan and bring my wife’s things to our quarters.” His voice didn’t shake, he knew how to hide his nerves.

“Yes, Elder.” Danse nods and heads into the ship, followed by the Knights with her bags.

With that they were alone, she stood like a lady with her hands carefully folded in front of her. She smiles at him, her lips look soft and sweet, her dark brown eyes look filled with curiosity and a hint of fear she was trying to hide. Seeing that look snapped him out of his fantasy. This wasn’t a fairytale. They were enemies, they were married to spare lives. She thought of him as something to fear, someone who killed people she cared about. He takes a breath and pushes that down, for at this moment all he needed was to prove to her that he wasn’t a monster. He holds out an arm to her and relaxes his body, smiling softly. “Welcome, may I show you around your new home, my bride?” 

 

~~~

 

Charmer smiles and takes his arm; when she first looked into his eyes all she had seen was the Elder, leader, killer. Though as the doors had closed and the two had been left alone his body relaxed, his eyes seemed kinder, he smiled. Maybe he was simply playing a role, maybe he wasn’t that bad… maybe this could be good. He leads her down the deck, motioning around and telling her about the mechanics and history, though her thoughts were on the view. She remembers when she was younger taking a plane to visit her Father’s family in DC, she remembers how the city had looked from up high back then. She hadn’t seen the city from this high since… It hurt.

The Elder’s thumb runs across the top of her hand which rested on his arm, a simple but kind and intimate gesture. “Your mind is far from here.” He doesn’t ask, just follows her eyes out over the city. “Must be hard for you to see your home like this…” He says softly, tilting his head to look into her eyes, without looking down at her.

“Yes, it is…” She says softly, blushing and looking away from him. “This is the first time I’ve really seen it all at once… I’m sorry, you were speaking.” She shakes her head and looks back up at him.

A soft smile graces his lips. “Oh you can learn about the construction of the ship another time, it’s not that interesting…” He seems to hesitate for a moment before reaching up and brushing a curl behind her ear. “Let’s head in… get away from all this… I can introduce you to the people on the ship, which is far more interesting than the actual ship.” He smirks and looks at her as if waiting for her to agree.

“Sounds lovely.” She giggles softly and nods, he was nothing like she’d imagined. Though Deacon’s words fill her ears, warning her that this is all be an act and he’s simply a monster waiting for his pray to relax enough for him to strike.

“Lovely…” He says softly, a slight blush runs across his cheeks before he pulls his gaze from her and turns to the door, leading her back inside. Once they are inside again, around people, he stands tall, official, stiff, leaderlike. She cannot judge though, she does the same with the Railroad. Here though she doesn’t try to seem more powerful, but more ladylike, more prewar, more wifely. “So,” He starts and shows her the ship and the people. She smiles, nods and tilts her head and smiles as she should.

Nothing truly shocks her till she sees a small group of children no older than ten running around. “Oh!” Her eyes go wide and she stops dead in her tracks.

The Elder… Maxson… Arthur… pauses and looks at her, confused. “What’s wrong?”

“T-there are children here?” She looks up at him, confused more than a little freaked out.

“Yes, they are Squires, don’t worry though we keep them safe. We never send them anywhere too dangerous and they are never without at least a Knight with them for protection.” He says, placing his hand on hers in reassurance.

“Oh, good…” She takes a deep breath and swallows her fear. She knew the plan that the Railroad had if they needed to destroy the brotherhood, nothing in that plan accounting for saving children. Could they have simply not known? No, Deacon would never come up with a plan without knowing everything. Oh, she would kick his ass when she saw him next if she saw him…

They continue through the ship, it takes a few hours before they were done and he looks down at her. “I think that’s everything… would you like to head back to our quarters?” They were off to the side, she can hear the slight hesitation in his voice.

“Ah, of course.” The word ‘ours’ rings in her ears, but he’s been kind to her thus far, so she gave him a little trust.

He smiles at her and leads them down the halls, through the ship, to a room with a plaque reading  _ Elder and Mrs. Maxson.  _ “Here we are.” He opens the door and leads her in.

The room was, different than she could have imagined. She’d thought it would be cold, metal, harsh, though it was far from that. It looked like a little studio apartment, with a little kitchen area, a large queen size bed, and what she guessed was a bathroom. It was soft yellows and pinks and blues, warm and inviting. Her bags were placed by a half-empty closet with a dresser in it, herb flowers were in a vase on the small table by the kitchen. The only thing that looked how she imagined was a desk in the corner, piled high with papers and a computer. However, even that reminded her of home, everything looked like it was ripped right out of a prewar magazine. It felt like a home, far the cell she thought she’d be stuck in. She lets go of his arm and walks around the room. She smells the flowers and looks up at him, blushing. “This place is… beautiful.”

 

~~~

 

When Arthur first walked through the door he thought he was in the wrong room, this was not how he’d left it this morning. The layout was the same yes, but everything was so… pastel. He was about to get really angry when she let go of his arm and walks over to the flowers on the table. She turns to him and smiles, blushing. “This place is… beautiful.”

He blinks for a second before quickly composing himself. “Yes… well,” He looks around. “I thought with how new and scary all this must be, that this could be a little escape.” He smiles at her and she slowly makes her way over to him.

“This… means a lot to me…” She blushes and looks down and then back up at him. “T-thank you.” She smiles and, to his surprise, she hugged him.


	6. An Unexpected Guest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait guys, I started a job and now I'm a busy bee. But now I have settled in and I am ready to get back to my writing!

Thud thud thud

_ She’s hugging me. _

Thud

_ I’m hugging her. _

Thud

_ She smells like peach tea. _

Thud

_ She’s so soft. _

Thud

_ I could stay like this forever. _

 

Arthur’s heart was in his throat, it felt like it was beating a million miles a minute but that minute was a decade long. Though even than the hug was over far faster than he wanted. It takes him a moment to come back to reality, then he smiles at her and nods. “You’re welcome. Anything for my wife.” As he says that she blushes and it warms his heart. “Now, I’ll let you unpack your things and have a moment to yourself. I have some things to take care of.” He turns to the door.

“Thank you again, Arthur.” He hears her soft voice say as he shuts the door behind him.

Thud

_ Arthur. _

Thud

_ She called me Arthur. _

Thud

Not Elder, not Maxson, Arthur.

 

He thought his heart would explode as he walked down the halls trying to find Danse.

 

~~~

 

Charmer looks around the room and smiles, her shoulders relax and she heads over to unpack her things. She places her suitcase on the bed and starts to hang up her dresses and coats. She looks over to Arthur’s side of the closet, one suit hung from the hanger along with many of the same back jumpsuit. She opened his side of the dresser, the basic military issued boxer briefs, white and back t-shirts, black running shorts. Simple and basic… She sighs and starts to put away her own clothes. The contrast of her soft colors and his dark ones reminded her that no matter how kind he is, they were different… So different. She sighs and sits on the bed, looking around the room.

“If he’s willing to change his living quarters to make me more comfortable maybe…” She sighs and lays back on the bed. The door to the room creaked and she shot up, looking to the door. In walked a man in power armor. Charmer’s hand went to her thigh, the feeling of the knife under her fingers calming her. “Excuse me?” The man says nothing as the door closes behind him. She kicks off her heels and stands, reading herself for a fight. Glory had taught her some hand-to-hand combat, she could defend herself. The power armor hisses as it opens. One hand was balled into a fist and the other was ready to grab her knife.

“Calm down, Charmer.” Deacon says as he steps out of the armor. He had a smirk on his lips, he knew he’d scared her.

“You’re an ass.” She sighs and flops back onto the bed.

 

~~~

 

Her golden curls spread over the pale pink quilt. Flopped back on the bed her dress inched up her pale thigh, making far too short for Deacon’s liking. She was wearing her mother’s pearl earrings… She was treating this like her real wedding day. She was far too relaxed, too calm, too short… too low cut… Deacon shakes his head and looks down. “Always am.” He jokes half-heartedly. He walks around the room. She’d be happy here, not as happy as she would be if she was home with them.

“Why are you here D? This is not safe.” She turns her head on the bed to look over to him. It reminded him of her sleeping in HQ. They’d found a little room for her, well it was more like a corner, but when it was late and he was patrolling he’d always check on her, look at her sleeping peacefully, safe. He wouldn’t be able to do that here.

“Come on kid, no one knows my face. It’s perfectly safe.” He winks and laughs. “Plus someone had to check on you and I’m the only one that can control his trigger finger.”

She laughs and looks back up at the ceiling. “True.” She smiles and closes her eyes. “So, is this a short visit or are you on a mission to watch me for a while?”

“Only for a day, it’s all we can afford right now… But in a week I’ll be back.” He watches her face, looking for any hint of fear, waiting for her to beg him to stay longer. Fuck Des, he’d stay right here if Charmer needed him.

“Good, don’t need Des waisting resources on me.” She says, sitting up and turning to her suitcase. “I need to keep unpacking.” She stands and puts her clothes away. She looks over to him, putting a shirt down. She walks over and hugs him. “Thanks, D… But I can do this. Now go before you get in trouble.” She kisses his cheek and smiles. “Tell everyone I’m alright… And that I miss them already.” She lets him go and turns back to her clothes. He knows she’s right, so he climbs back into the stuffy armor and heads out.


End file.
